1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to surgery and more particularly, to body member enclosing thermal applicators.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a standard therapeutic procedure to treat specific injuries, such as sprained or strained muscle tissues, by chilling a localized region to reduce swelling and discomfort. Ice packs of diverse forms are available for administering to localized injuries. These are modest, specialized ice packs, typically housing a pouch for retaining ice and a strap or a pair of straps for maintaining the pouch in contact with the localized area to be attended. These ice packs are rather fragile and, as a result of their size, have a pouch opening of limited dimensions which makes it difficult to fill the pouch from an ice machine or with an ice scoop. Consequently, ice is frequently spilled as the pouch is filled and/or damage to the delicate ice pack occurs.
There is a demand for an ice pack having an opening of considerable size so as to permit the pack to be effortlessly filled. Preferably, the opening would be fashioned into the shape of a funnel. In other words, the funnel would unfold upon grasping the ice pack in a specific manner. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,347,848, issued Sep. 7, 1982, and 4,385,950, issued May 31, 1983, both to Vance M. Hubbard et al., disclose an outwardly diverging throat proximate the opening of an ice pack and a disposable funnel to be inserted therein. Nonetheless, Hubbard et al. does not disclose an opening which may be modeled into the shape of a funnel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,666, issued Aug. 28, 1990 to Joel D. Inman et al., describes a flap for creating a chute to facilitate filling an inner bag with ice. This is accomplished by pursing the bag side edges and open top. The employment of an element bordering the opening which, by manipulation, could serve in styling the opening into the shape of a funnel would provide a significant advancement beyond the teachings of the Inman et al. patent. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,368,984, issued Mar. 4, 1975 to Blanche I. Jorgensen, and 4,408,643, issued Oct. 11, 1983 to Louis L. Laske et al., each disclose a stiffener strip associated with the mouth. However, these strips function as closure devices and are not used to form funnels. An opening which may be easily formed into the shape of a funnel has not as of yet been devised.
There is also a demand for an ice pack which provides a variance in heat exchange in accordance with its application. For example, some patients are intolerant to cold temperatures and the use of a conventional ice pack will inflict an inordinate amount of discomfort upon the patient. In certain circumstances, the utilization of a traditional ice pack will be too cold, possibly placing the patient's health in jeopardy. In other instances, a very cold ice pack may be necessitated. Then, there are those situations when a patient is merely desirous of using either a very cold compress or a mildly cool compress. A dual temperature ice pack would allow the needs of all of these conditions to be fulfilled. An ice pack having two sides, one side being more insulated than the other side, would deviate in temperature from side to side. The more insulated side, that is, the warmer side of the two sides, would be applied against the patient when a mildly cool compress is favorable, such as on the forehead of a feverish patient. The lesser insulated side or the colder of the two sides would be used when a cold compress is desired, such as on a sprain. A need exists for a dual temperature ice pack which enables a health care professional or a patient to select a temperature which is most appropriate for a particular application. U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,643, issued Oct. 11, 1983 to Louis L. Laske et al., discloses a plastic bag having one side completely insulated with a poly foam material. U.S. Pat. No. 2,043,327, issued Jun. 9, 1936 to Thomas W. Miller, teaches of a hot water bottle having two sides, each being fabricated different densities of rubber to provide one side having a greater heat exchange rate than the other. It is suggested that the less insulated side is initially too hot to place in contact with the patient's skin. Thus, the more insulated side is initially placed in contact with the patient's skin and, as the content of the bottle decreases in temperature, the less insulated side is placed in contact with the patient's skin, prolonging the use of the hot water bottle. An alternative to the hot water bottle disclosed by Miller above is U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,504, issued Apr. 1, 1975 to John P. Verakas, describing a gel filled cold pack having a poly foam insulating layer on only one side. The cold pack is configured to insulate only the side which is exposed to the ambient environment, thus allowing the contents of the cold pack to remain cold longer. Hence, the cold pack, as described by Verakas, has a cold side and a completely insulated side. An ice pack having a cold side and a mildly cool side has yet to be introduced.
Equally important, if such an ice pack had one side which possessed a characteristic visually distinct with respect to the other side, such as a color disparity, an exemplary pattern or symbol, or one or more characters denoting an identifying word or phrase, such as "cool" and "cold", the health care professional would be able to distinguish visually the two sides from one another, even at a distance.
Yet another matter to be considered in the development of ice packs is an efficient manner of manufacture. Various types of construction and methods thereof are employed in manufacturing ice packs. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,244,210, issued Apr. 5, 1966, and 3,299,927, issued Jan. 24, 1967, both to Giacomo Clarizo, show the sealing of a bag within a rectangular envelope through the use of plural seals, one of which is a heat seal for producing a cut and tear construction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,950, issued May 31, 1983 to Vance M. Hubbard et al., describes an ice pack having an absorbent intermediate layer. The ice pack is formed by ultrasonic welding methods. A funnel is sonically welded thereto. Hubbard et al. discloses a method of forming an ice pack comprising the steps of: positioning strips of three ply material; two subsequent ultrasonic steps to form an envelope; and two subsequent cutting steps to form strips parallel to the sides of the envelope. U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,834, issued Jul. 8, 1975 to Arthur E. Armstrong, discloses an insulated cold pack comprising four sheets of polyurethane heat sealed to one another along their edges. U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,541, issued Apr. 17, 1979 to Clifford E. Gammons et al., shows a hot or cold fluid circulating pad formed of four panels sealed together by a thermoplastic process. Two inner panels forming a bag are of a thermoplastic material and two outer panels forming a outer covering are of a fabric material. The bag is clearly formed internally of the outer fabric covering. U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,666, issued Aug. 28, 1990 to Joel D. Inman et al., discloses a thermal pack having a cloth outer bag, a separate plastic inner bag, a plastic filling flap, a cuff, a zip lock closure, and a velcro closure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,300, issued Dec. 12, 1991 to Edward Murphy, discloses a tearing of a complete bag along from a length of stock material used to form bags, as a replacement for a separate die cutting operation to separate the completed bags. A tear line is formed by a sharpened heating element. Also discussed is a no-tear seam, a tapered edge, and a fibrous heat seal.
While in the main, prior art ice packs are manufactured implementing myriad materials and techniques, there remains a need for a less expensive and more efficiently produced ice pack and a method of manufacturing the same which reduces the number of costly manual steps involved. Ideally, an ice pack construction in which the ice pack is formed by thermoplastically welding its edges while simultaneously cutting the same proximate the weld, and thus eliminating the requirement of a cutting step in succession with sealing step would meet such a requirement. It would be advantageous for such an ice pack to include a funnel forming element along the mouth of the opening thereof. It would be further beneficial to attach lateral strips to the top and the bottom of the ice pack for maintaining the same adjacent the patient's skin.
Aside from the above mentioned patents, another patent which is of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,848, issued Sep. 7, 1982 to Vance M. Hubbard et al., disclosing tie strings which are longitudinally disposed and inwardly offset. The straps to be disclosed hereinafter in accordance with applicants' instant invention extend laterally from the longitudinal axis of the ice pack. U.S. Pat. No. 1,752,808, issued Apr. 1, 1930 to Milton B. Reach, disclosing a bag having a strap type devices also considered to be of interest. The strap, however, is located proximate the mouth of the bag and is a part of a closure mechanism, rather than being an element for maintaining the position of the bag as is the intended use of the strap disclosed by applicants. Other patents which are of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,356,086 issued Dec. 5, 1967 to Charles A. Behney and 4,033,354 issued Jul. 5, 1977 to Maria De Rosa.
It should be noted that none of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.